Clip-attaching device.



J. B. MULLALLY & G. L. GRANT.

CLIP ATTAOHING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED 00123, 1912.

1,077,154. Patented Oct. 28, 1913.

WITNESSES: I V INVENTORS ATTORNEY COLUMBQ. PLANOORAPH c0.,wA$HINaTaN, n. c.

UNITED STATES QFFICE.

JOHN B. MULLALLY AND GEORGE L. GRANT, OF SEATTLE, WASHINGTON.

GLIlF-ATTAGHING DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 28,1913.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JOHN B. MULLALLY and GEORGE L. GRANT, citizens of the United States, residing at Seattle, in the county of King and State of Washington, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Clip-Attaching Devices, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to improvements in devices for attaching plurality of papers, manuscripts and the like, which are to be clasped or clamped together, and the object spring-wire clips to a of our improvement is to provide a simple,

reliable and inexpensive tool that may be disposed on ones desk where it may be operated conveniently to aflix one or more of such clips to a plurality of papers to clamp them together, such tool being adapted to receive and hold a plurality of said clips in a position from which successively they each may be attached to papers in response to the operation of the mechanism of said tool.

We attain such object by devices illus-. trated in the accompanying drawings wherein Figure 1 i a plan view of a structure embodying our invention wherein some of its parts are indicated by broken line, Fig. 2 is a view of the same in longitudinal and vertical sect-ion on broken line wa2 of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a like view, on like section of Fig. showing some of its moving parts in a position that they assume at one stage of their operation, Fig. 4 is a View in perspective of a movable part of our invention, Fig. 5 is a perspective view of some of the fixed parts of the same, Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view partly in vertical-section on broken line y-y of Fig. 1 showing a modified form of one detail of our invention and an additional part that may be desirable under some conditions of use, and Fig. 7 illustrates a form of spring-wire clip which is adapted to be attached to papers'by the operation of our invention.

Like reference numerals indicate like parts throughout the drawing.

Referring to the drawings, 8 is a hollow base of cast-metal, as of cast-iron, upon which are mounted two guide-plates 9 secured by screws 11, said guide-plates 9 being such as bills, letters,-

traverse said slot placed parallel with eachother and at a suitable short distance apart. An upright bracket 10 is disposed vertically to bridge across the space between the guide-plates 9 with it side braces 12 and the ends of its bottom fastened to said guideplates 9, as shown more clearly in Fig. 5. On that side of bracket 10 opposite the braced side is a vertical web 13, which is integral with said bracket 10, and which serves to support a vertical shaft 14 of diamond shaped crosssection whose lower end is suitably higher than the top surface of guide-plates 9 to permit a clip 15 (of a form shownin Fig. 7) to pass between it and said guide-plates 9, the cross-sectional shape of said shaft 14 adapting it better to receive and conduct downwardly a plurality of said clips 15 which may be deposited thereon, ready for use, the bottom one of which clips 15, normally lower than the bottom of said shaft 14, rests on the top of the base 8 between the guide-plates 9, the guiding flanges 16 of said guide-plates 9 being cut away each side to permit a clip 15 to drop from shaft 14 to base 8 while guided on its way by the edges of angular pieces 17 which edges project inwardly to engage with the angular members respectively of a clip 14. A slide-platel7 having flanges 18 extending from each side of its bottom and provided with a V shaped notch 19, one end of which extends inwardly to a parallel sided slot 20 and further provided with a projecting knob 21, adapted to serve as a handle, asmost clearly illustrated in Fig. 4, is disposed to slide freely within the space between the guideplate 9 with its flanges 18in engagement with the flanges 16 shown in Fig. 1. In the base 8 is a longitudinal slot 22 disposed beneath the slideplate 17, and extending through said slot 22 from the underside of said base 8 and into the slide-plate 17 at a pointnot far from the knob 21, is a shouldered screw 23 which may 1 22 as the slide-plate 17 is moved back and forth between the guideplates 9 and to such shouldered screw 23 is connected an extended end 24 0f a spiral spring 25 whose other extended end 26 is fastened to the base 8 by a screw 27, as seen more clearly in Fig. 2, wherein the slideplate 17 and said spring 25 with itsextended ends 2 1 and 26 are shown in their normal positions, and such positions also are indicated in Fig. 1, while Fig. 8 shows such parts in the positions they assume when the slide-plate 17 is moved to the full extent of its travel toward the bracket 10, thus when the slide-plate 17 is moved by the knob 21 in one direction to the end of its travel and thereupon released then the retractile force of the spring 25 may serve to move said slide-plate 1,7 in the opposite direction back to its normal position shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Disposed on base 8 midway between the guide-plates 9 is a fixed arm or cam 28 whose upper edge surface inclines gradually, for a suitable distance, and then in a1 line parallel with the top surface of base 8 for a distance nearly to the ends of the guide-plates 9 while the surface of its under edge rises in an abrupt curve to a straight line which is parallel with and of suitable distance from the line of its upper edge to form a rigid prong, as shown in Fig. 2, beneath which the end portions of a plurality of papers 29, as shown in Fig. 3, may be inserted between such prong and the top surface of the guideplates 9 and when such papers 29 are thus disposed and when a clip 15 is conducted downwardly to rest on the base 8 beneath said shaft 14, then by moving the slide-plate 17 toward the cam 28 such clip 15 travels toward the right with its free ends 30 beneath the flanges 16 of the guide-plates 9 to a point where the apex with the top edge of cam 28 to raise that portion of clip 15 and its continued moveby the shaft 1 1 i 31 of the clip 15 engages ment causes such portion to ride on the top of said cam 28 to its end there to fall downwardly on to the papers 29 to clamp them between said apex portion end portions 30 whereupon may be released to spring 25 to its normal position which position permits a next succeeding 31 and the free the slide-plate 17 1 be carried back by the;

clip 15 to fall in front of it ready to be attached in a like manner to clamp together other papers.

In Fig. 6 we have shown a screw 32 projecting from the top of clip-holding shaft 1 1 upon which a threaded-nut 33 may be screwed, if it be desired,

to prevent any of the clips 15 from falling ofi the shaft 14 incase of an accidental tipping over of the instrument or of accidental inversion of it;

when handling it.

Also in Fig. 6 we have shown how a cam 34 may be swingingly hinged to the base 8 in fixed cam 28 of Figs. 1, when employed, normally may rest in an number of be disposed with cam 3 1 and lines in papers may against said carried forward substitution for the i 2 and 3. Such cam,

position, as indicated by dotted when a clip 15 is by the slide-plate 17 then the apex 31 of the clip 17 may push against the cam 34 to force it down on to said papers and, continuing its motion, slide to the end of such cam 34 thence to fall on to such. papers to clamp them against the free ends 30 of the clip 15 whereupon the cam 3 1 is free to move backward to its normal position and the papers may be removed. The swinging back to such normal position of the cam 3 1 may be caused by pushing against it the edges of papers that are to be fastened together or by automatic means, not shown, which will readily suggest themselves to one skilled in the art, as, for instance a retractile spring.

Manifestly adequate changes in the form and size of parts of our invention may be made to adapt it to any one of many forms and sizes of clips and clamping devices without departing from thespirit of our invention.

What we claim is:

1. In a clip attaching device, the c0mbination with a base member, of movable means associated with such base member and adapted to engage with and move a clip that is provided with an upper and a lower clamping member, guiding members associated with said base member and adapted to guide said movable means, means for spreading said clamping members of said clip in response to a movement of said slideplate and means forreceiving and guiding a plurality of such clips to such a position with relation to said movable means that said movaable means may engage with the lowermost of such clips to move it into engagement with a plurality of papers to clamp them together.

2. In a clip attaching device, the combination with a suitable supporting base, of a guide structure extending upwardly therefrom and adapted to guide clips downwardly, a member movable horizontally on said supporting base to feed the lowermost of said clips along, and means associated 'ith said supporting base for spreading the 1 upper and lower members of such clip as it is fed along.

3. In a clip attaching device, the combination with a base member, of a movable slide-plate associated with said base member and adapted to engage with and move a clip, two guiding members secured to said base and adapted to guide said slide-plate in its movements, retractile means for moving said slide-plate in one direction, means associated with said base for separating the clamping members of a clip as said clip is moved by said slide-plate, and means for guiding clips to a point where successively they may engage with said slide-plate to be moved thereby.

4:. In a clip attaching device, a base member, a guide structure extending upwardly therefrom, a plurality of clips in said guide our names this 30th day of September A.

structure, said clips having upper and lower 1912. clamping members, a member movable horizontally along the base member to feed the lowermost clip along, and means on the base member to spread the upper and lower mem- Witnesses:

bers of each clip as itis fed along.

In witness whereof, we hereunto subscribe JOHN B. MULLALLY. GEORGE L. GRANT.

ANNA HAsKINs, GEO. BLAIR.

g the Commissioner of Patents, 

